Which thinker emphasized natural rights and manhood suffrage, prioritizing political rights over property rights?

• A. Thomas Hobbes
• B. Thomas Rainsborough
• C. John Marshall
• D. James Madison

Answer: (B)

Natural rights and universal manhood suffrage, with political rights prioritized over property rights, are most closely associated with Thomas Rainsborough. As a leading Leveller in the Putney Debates of 1647, he argued that all free men should have a vote and that political participation should be grounded in equality before the law and natural rights, not tied to land ownership or wealth. This stance centers the idea that rights of individuals to participate in government precede and trump claims based on property.

Hobbes, by contrast, emphasizes order under a strong sovereign and does not foreground natural rights or universal suffrage in the same way. Madison and Marshall operate within a framework that links political power to property and constitutionalism, often limiting suffrage and cautioning against democracy unchecked by institutions. Their writings and roles are more aligned with stabilizing government through property-based interests and structured representation rather than extending political rights to all free men.